This is the official blog of the Consul General, U.S.Consulate General Hyderabad.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

My First Indian Iftar

After
I graduated university, I moved to Indonesia where I was lucky enough attend a
number of iftar dinners. Although I wasn’t fasting during Ramzan, I loved how every meal was a
celebration to be enjoyed with family, friends, and even strangers. I also
appreciated learning that for Muslims Ramzan
is a time spent becoming a better person by overcoming your desires, and it is
a period spent reaching out to your neighbors and those less fortunate than
you. Although most Americans think of Ramzan
and Islam when we think of fasting, the idea of fasting isn’t unique to
Islam. I’ve heard from Hindu colleagues that fasting during a specific time of
a month or during a festival is common. Growing up, I saw some of my Catholic
family members give up certain food items for the duration of Lent. So although
Ramzan is an
Islamic holiday, much of the world has similar traditions.

Iftars
are not just celebrated in Islamic countries, but worldwide. As I mentioned, I
attended many iftars in Indonesia, but I was also invited to a few in
Washington, DC. Just last week President Obama hosted a dinner at the White
House for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In his speech he mentioned that the
very first iftar dinner at the White House was organized by America’s third
president, Thomas Jefferson, and took place over 200 years ago! Even a country
as young as America has a long history of iftar dinners.

I
arrived in Hyderabad a few weeks ago – just in time for this year’s Ramzan.
The consulate sponsored an iftar dinner at MESCO Grade School in the Old
City. When we first arrived at the school we split up and I distributed
an American quiz – a worksheet with ten questions about the U.S. Many of
the students had never talked to Americans before, but they knew a lot about
the U.S. I was impressed by their enthusiasm and their curiosity. I answered a
lot of questions about my background and American culture, food, and geography,
and I learned more about how Indian schools and classes are organized. It was a
learning experience for all of us.

My
husband is originally from Tunisia and he is Muslim-American, so he gave a
presentation about his experiences as a Muslim in America. Not only did he show slideshows of
all the beautiful mosques in the States as well as present information about
the great things Muslim-Americans are doing, he was also able to talk about
some of his personal experiences. I hope that some of the younger students
understood that America isn’t composed of one type of people, but many races,
religions, cultures, and languages.

Afterwards
we all went upstairs to break the fast with fruit and dates and I got the
opportunity to talk to some of the students at the school. Most of the kids had
been fasting all day, and I was impressed that they had all been so
enthusiastic during our interactions before dinner. After breaking the fast the
students went to pray, and when they came back we all had a dinner of haleem,
biryani, and khubani ka meetha for dessert. Although the students were
young, a lot of them expressed interest in travelling to the U.S. for travel or
to study. I hope that if they do, they will feel as welcome in the U.S. as I
did during our iftar dinner. After Eid-al-fitr next week it will be
another eleven months before the next Ramzan,
but I hope that the same spirit of community and generosity continues
throughout the year.

Courtney
Kline is a Vice Consul at the U.S. Consulate General, Hyderabad

About the Consul General

Katherine Dhanani has been a Foreign Service Officer since 1990. Most recently she was the Deputy Chief of Mission in the U.S. Embassy in Harare.
Ms. Dhanani trained as an Economist at Kenyon College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and taught economics at Grinnell College before joining the Foreign Service.